rewrite, outside
by goneonelsewhere
Summary: A change in a fight. Chaos from above.
1. Chapter 1

"What's he do—get clear of the water!"

Later, Nebula would swear she felt a tingle as she leaped out, but in the moment there was only relief at the escape, the announcer's shouting and the roaring of the crowd flowing over her ears unheard. "Too close," she muttered, shaking a little water off her feet.

Gwen nodded, keeping her eyes on Neptune and Sun. The latter was trying to convince the other to cross the water, now, and it gave them precious time to breathe and think. "We can't use the water anymore, at least not while he's close to it."

"Maybe we can't use it the same way, but…" Nebula's eyes darted about, the gears in her head spinning madly. "Dew, you think you still can whip up another tornado, a big one? And I know it's harder, but holding it until we're ready.

"…Oh, I see. Yeah, I think I can manage one at least. _Maybe_ two." Dew spun her spear, settling into a crouch. "Think you could get them a little frazzled first, though? I don't know how long I can keep it up."

"Separate them?"

"Sounds good. And keep him—" she jerked her chin in Neptune's direction, "—near the water if you can. It'll help."

"Right." And with that, they surged forward, Nebula angling her approach to keep them from running into the other zone, while Gwen came from the other side.

Seeing this, Sun cut off whatever he'd been saying before, and practically yanked Neptune into a run beside him. "Look, sooner we get this done, sooner we can get away from the water, right?!"

"Gods, fine, but after this—"

Nebula spun through the air down toward Neptune, forcing him to block and push her away toward the rocks, while Gwen threw her knives at Sun and got him to jump away from his teammate. "Do you two really have time to be planning dates?"

Sun only growled his frustration, occupied with avoiding Gwen's attacks. The too-large plumes of sand as the knives embedded themselves there told him of the Dust that they were likely infused with. Or maybe it was Semblance. But either way, a blow from one would mean a dozen more, and his Aura would be down to nothing in seconds. Gwen knew it too, and kept him on the defensive, to ensure no gap could come when he could pull out his nunchuks again.

And all the while she shepherded him away from a visibly nervous Neptune, whose gaze flickered between Sun, the water's edge, his feet, and Nebula as she harried with blow after blow. Never letting him far from the boundary of wet sand. Never letting him get too far from her.

Until howling wind drowned out even the commentators, and all eyes went to the opposite side of the miniature sea. To Dew, and the whirling beast of water before her. It stretched high above, droplets sprayed over the entire arena.

Neptune's trident dropped from his hands with a soft thud.

And Nebula smashed her sword against his temple, not bothering to wait as he toppled forward. She darted in Sun's direction, lunging for his legs the moment Gwen spun—

—and they both grinned when he jumped up, savouring his confusion before a blast of air sent him head over heel, then another, and another, until he slammed into an unforgiving spire of rock.

Dew came up beside him, panting slightly, but triumph kept her steady on the sand. She crouched, and waited until he opened his eyes again.

"Bye, boy."


	2. Chapter 2

"I don't understand." Octavia cupped her hands around her eyes, strained to see any movement in the dark below. Occasionally she caught sight of a flash, a Paladin, the unmistakable release of light and heat from Dust, but they always faded before she could make anything else out. "Well, the Grimm I get, but why would Atlas attack?"

Slumped in a chair nearby, Dew only shrugged, face pulled tight with worry. "They do have a history of when it comes to military force."

"But what do they get out of it? It's not like the other kingdoms would accept it Dust unchambered, not after what they saw, and we saw that general—!"

"Maybe he didn't know. And maybe they'd want to act, but could they? Atlas' military is nothing to sneeze at. And with the CTT… not working, they wouldn't be able to coordinate, which they'd have to just to stand a chance at fighting—" Her voice cracked, and her eyes slid shut as she tried to centre herself once more.

Gwen looked her friend up and down; a slight frown grew. "You make it sound like there's going to be war."

"What is this," Dew motioned to the window with a tired hand, "If not an act of one?"

None of them had any argument against that, and the silence sat heavily between them. Scattered around them, some had fallen asleep. Others sat awake, talking, if at all, in hushed tones.

Nebula shrugged the shroud of quiet off, in the end. "You think the Beacon kids'll be okay?"

Their collective tension ratcheted up a few notches. Octavia's response came slow, but the other two didn't move to cut in. "I know some of them evacuated right away, but some stayed behind."

"I don't mean that. I mean, they've shown they can hold things together, at least for a while, but that's their home, there. At the rate things are going…" Nebula's mouth closed and did not open again, but they all knew the unsaid words. An outcome they would've laughed at the suggestion of was now reality. Beacon was falling. Even if the Hunters left managed to clear out the Grimm somehow, people would be afraid, coming back there. And that, in turn, would bring the Grimm again.

A cycle that only spiralled down, without some sort of miracle.

"We should sleep." When three sets of eyes turned on her, Nebula added, "If we can, I mean. When we get back, we should try to find out what happened if we can, and then… well…."

"One step at a time," Octavia said, "Figure out the situation, and then decide." They all nodded. Nearly as one, with Dew first and Octavia last. But she spoke for them all, before she curled up in a seat, and let her head rest against its back.

"We won't sit around and wait."


End file.
